Solar Cooker Kits Available - Instructions for Ordering
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Megan Parks
Oct 8, 2009, 1:24:25 PM10/8/09
to Make It Green Houston
Based on the feedback we got from many of you who want to build their
own solar cooker, we will be offering kits for sale. These kits will
enable you to build a wooden box cooker that looks like the one we had
on display at my garage on Oct 4th.
$70 small cooker kit: dimensions are 24" x 16". Fits two good sized
pots.
$100 large cooker kit: dimensions are 48" x 16". Fits about twice as
much as the small cooker. Suitable for feeding large groups /
community use.
The kits will contain the various pieces of plywood, insulation, and
metal needed to build your cooker. Nell and Dean have graciously
volunteered to pre-cut the pieces for you. We will meet on Oct 31st
at my house so you can assemble your cooker. If you can not make the
Oct 31st date, send me a seperate email so we can arrange for pickup
of the kit.
Instructions for Ordering:
Select whether you want a small or large cooker.
Send a check for the appropriate amount made out to Nell Wheeler, to
the following address.
7525 Jay St.
Houston, TX 77028
Checks must be received by Oct 20th. No exceptions.
own solar cooker, we will be offering kits for sale. These kits will
enable you to build a wooden box cooker that looks like the one we had
on display at my garage on Oct 4th.
$70 small cooker kit: dimensions are 24" x 16". Fits two good sized
pots.
$100 large cooker kit: dimensions are 48" x 16". Fits about twice as
much as the small cooker. Suitable for feeding large groups /
community use.
The kits will contain the various pieces of plywood, insulation, and
metal needed to build your cooker. Nell and Dean have graciously
volunteered to pre-cut the pieces for you. We will meet on Oct 31st
at my house so you can assemble your cooker. If you can not make the
Oct 31st date, send me a seperate email so we can arrange for pickup
of the kit.
Instructions for Ordering:
Select whether you want a small or large cooker.
Send a check for the appropriate amount made out to Nell Wheeler, to
the following address.
7525 Jay St.
Houston, TX 77028
Checks must be received by Oct 20th. No exceptions.
nell wheeler
Oct 12, 2009, 12:21:26 PM10/12/09
to make-it-gr...@googlegroups.com
Hey, all,
Here are some pictures of the two foot long model we have built. It has a single pane of glass and gets up to about 230 degrees F, which cooks a pound of those delicious Yukon Gold potatoes in about 2.5 hours. With another pane of glass(which is how the kit would be prepared), we think we'll get another 10 or 15 degrees, and cut the average cooking time.
Let's all hope for a sunny day, so we can test this out!
Nell
> Date: Thu, 8 Oct 2009 10:24:25 -0700
> Subject: Solar Cooker Kits Available - Instructions for Ordering
> From: megan...@gmail.com
> To: make-it-gr...@googlegroups.com
Here are some pictures of the two foot long model we have built. It has a single pane of glass and gets up to about 230 degrees F, which cooks a pound of those delicious Yukon Gold potatoes in about 2.5 hours. With another pane of glass(which is how the kit would be prepared), we think we'll get another 10 or 15 degrees, and cut the average cooking time.
Let's all hope for a sunny day, so we can test this out!
Nell
> Date: Thu, 8 Oct 2009 10:24:25 -0700
> Subject: Solar Cooker Kits Available - Instructions for Ordering
> From: megan...@gmail.com
> To: make-it-gr...@googlegroups.com
Green...@gmail.com
Oct 8, 2009, 2:54:26 PM10/8/09
to Megan Parks, make-it-gr...@googlegroups.com
OK, so I am new to the group and have not attended any functions yet, however, I do see a problem with your solar cooker project.
How green is it if you are using all new materials, aren't you contibuting more to the problem of consumption than to the solution of "use less" with a project like this? I get the pricipal of the idea, but it needs to be rethought to be considered truly "green"
Why are you using new plywood when wooden pallets and used wooden shipping crates currently litter our city?
A cusory search of the "FREE" Section on Craigslist clearly shows that all the materials are already out there and are free.
- http://houston.craigslist.org/zip/1401349212.html - about 30 pallets
- http://houston.craigslist.org/zip/1407285782.html - Wooden Spools
- http://galveston.craigslist.org/zip/1371138519.html - Insulation
- http://houston.craigslist.org/zip/1402003576.html - Entertainment center with glass doors.
In order to be "green" you have to stop and consider what you are doing, why and how you can do it WITHOUT BUYING MATERIALS, and keep good quality items out of our landfills.
I'm not trying to bust anyones (*&(* or stir things up over this, but if all you are doing is creating more waste and putting more items into the waste stream, aren't you part of the problem? Granted some of these items are not in downtown Houston, and there would be some fuel/time used to collect them, but I think it also fair to say that it would still be less than creation, shipping, storing, selling and trasporting of all new materails. And yes, there is more "work" to be done to get the used materials into a workable product but again, still less than buying new.
Just my .02 from my point of view, yours is likely to be different.
Scott aka 3d
www.offgridhomesteading.com
How green is it if you are using all new materials, aren't you contibuting more to the problem of consumption than to the solution of "use less" with a project like this? I get the pricipal of the idea, but it needs to be rethought to be considered truly "green"
Why are you using new plywood when wooden pallets and used wooden shipping crates currently litter our city?
A cusory search of the "FREE" Section on Craigslist clearly shows that all the materials are already out there and are free.
- http://houston.craigslist.org/zip/1401349212.html - about 30 pallets
- http://houston.craigslist.org/zip/1407285782.html - Wooden Spools
- http://galveston.craigslist.org/zip/1371138519.html - Insulation
- http://houston.craigslist.org/zip/1402003576.html - Entertainment center with glass doors.
In order to be "green" you have to stop and consider what you are doing, why and how you can do it WITHOUT BUYING MATERIALS, and keep good quality items out of our landfills.
I'm not trying to bust anyones (*&(* or stir things up over this, but if all you are doing is creating more waste and putting more items into the waste stream, aren't you part of the problem? Granted some of these items are not in downtown Houston, and there would be some fuel/time used to collect them, but I think it also fair to say that it would still be less than creation, shipping, storing, selling and trasporting of all new materails. And yes, there is more "work" to be done to get the used materials into a workable product but again, still less than buying new.
Just my .02 from my point of view, yours is likely to be different.
Scott aka 3d
www.offgridhomesteading.com
Megan Parks
Oct 14, 2009, 2:36:11 PM10/14/09
to Make It Green Houston
Scott, I appreciate your suggestions for using used materials for the
cookers. We did investigate this before we decided on our design, and
so I will share what we decided.
1) We will be using reclaimed glass from old discarded windows for the
glass panes on the small cookers.
2) We elected to use new wood for the basic box. We have designed the
cooker to use every square inch of a sheet of plywood to minimize
waste. Some members of our group have extensive experience building
things from reclaimed materials. Our goal is to build cookers that
work, and new materials make this much more likely. We also want to
offer a kit.
3) We do not want to use conventional fiberglass insulation, which
contains formaldehyde. We will be using styrofoam which is not
perfect, but has some design advantages for this design.
Solar cooking keeps you from using as much gas/electricity to cook,
and because a hot stove heats your house, could keep your cooling bill
down in summer if you use it often. It also provides another option
for times when power is out or interrupted (ie there are other reasons
to do it besides "being green").
It would be easier to do all reclaimed materials if we weren't all
trying to build from the same plans / from a kit. However based on
our experience, without a kit, many people will probably not build an
oven at all.
I encourage everyone to come out to our events. It would be great if
someone brought a cooker made completely from reclaimed materials.
Bring us your oven so we can all learn from your experiences!
On Oct 8, 1:54 pm, GreenSta...@gmail.com wrote:
> OK, so I am new to the group and have not attended any functions yet,
> however, I do see a problem with your solar cooker project.
>
> How green is it if you are using all new materials, aren't you contibuting
> more to the problem of consumption than to the solution of "use less" with
> a project like this? I get the pricipal of the idea, but it needs to be
> rethought to be considered truly "green"
>
> Why are you using new plywood when wooden pallets and used wooden shipping
> crates currently litter our city?>
> A cusory search of the "FREE" Section on Craigslist clearly shows that all
> the materials are already out there and are free.
>
> -http://houston.craigslist.org/zip/1401349212.html- about 30 pallets
> -http://houston.craigslist.org/zip/1407285782.html- Wooden Spools
> -http://galveston.craigslist.org/zip/1371138519.html- Insulation
> with glass doors.
>
> In order to be "green" you have to stop and consider what you are doing,
> why and how you can do it WITHOUT BUYING MATERIALS, and keep good quality
> items out of our landfills.
>
> I'm not trying to bust anyones (*&(* or stir things up over this, but if
> all you are doing is creating more waste and putting more items into the
> waste stream, aren't you part of the problem? Granted some of these items
> are not in downtown Houston, and there would be some fuel/time used to
> collect them, but I think it also fair to say that it would still be less
> than creation, shipping, storing, selling and trasporting of all new
> materails. And yes, there is more "work" to be done to get the used
> materials into a workable product but again, still less than buying new.
>
> Just my .02 from my point of view, yours is likely to be different.
>
> Scott aka 3dwww.offgridhomesteading.com
>
>
> In order to be "green" you have to stop and consider what you are doing,
> why and how you can do it WITHOUT BUYING MATERIALS, and keep good quality
> items out of our landfills.
>
> I'm not trying to bust anyones (*&(* or stir things up over this, but if
> all you are doing is creating more waste and putting more items into the
> waste stream, aren't you part of the problem? Granted some of these items
> are not in downtown Houston, and there would be some fuel/time used to
> collect them, but I think it also fair to say that it would still be less
> than creation, shipping, storing, selling and trasporting of all new
> materails. And yes, there is more "work" to be done to get the used
> materials into a workable product but again, still less than buying new.
>
> Just my .02 from my point of view, yours is likely to be different.
>
> Scott aka 3dwww.offgridhomesteading.com
>
> On Oct 8, 2009 12:24pm, Megan Parks <megan.pa...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > Based on the feedback we got from many of you who want to build their
> > own solar cooker, we will be offering kits for sale. These kits will
> > enable you to build a wooden box cooker that looks like the one we had
> > on display at my garage on Oct 4th.
> > $70 small cooker kit: dimensions are 24" x 16". Fits two good sized
> > pots.
> > $100 large cooker kit: dimensions are 48" x 16". Fits about twice as
> > much as the small cooker. Suitable for feeding large groups /
> > community use.
> > The kits will contain the various pieces of plywood, insulation, and
> > metal needed to build your cooker. Nell and Dean have graciously
> > volunteered to pre-cut the pieces for you. We will meet on Oct 31st
> > at my house so you can assemble your cooker. If you can not make the
> > Oct 31st date, send me a seperate email so we can arrange for pickup
> > of the kit.
> > Instructions for Ordering:
> > Select whether you want a small or large cooker.
> > Send a check for the appropriate amount made out to Nell Wheeler, to
> > the following address.
> > 7525 Jay St.
> > Houston, TX 77028
> > Checks must be received by Oct 20th. No exceptions.- Hide quoted text -
>
>
>
> > Based on the feedback we got from many of you who want to build their
> > own solar cooker, we will be offering kits for sale. These kits will
> > enable you to build a wooden box cooker that looks like the one we had
> > on display at my garage on Oct 4th.
> > $70 small cooker kit: dimensions are 24" x 16". Fits two good sized
> > pots.
> > $100 large cooker kit: dimensions are 48" x 16". Fits about twice as
> > much as the small cooker. Suitable for feeding large groups /
> > community use.
> > The kits will contain the various pieces of plywood, insulation, and
> > metal needed to build your cooker. Nell and Dean have graciously
> > volunteered to pre-cut the pieces for you. We will meet on Oct 31st
> > at my house so you can assemble your cooker. If you can not make the
> > Oct 31st date, send me a seperate email so we can arrange for pickup
> > of the kit.
> > Instructions for Ordering:
> > Select whether you want a small or large cooker.
> > Send a check for the appropriate amount made out to Nell Wheeler, to
> > the following address.
> > 7525 Jay St.
> > Houston, TX 77028
>
> - Show quoted text -
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